15 dead. What happened?

[BRSIII]

I don't have any drift wood. The water was nice and clear for the first couple of days after I added the limestone and coral. I rinsed it all very very well I hate a cloudy mess like you get when you don't rinse. The cloudiness started this morning and it's white not green. I am going to throw some filter floss in the sump chamber and see if it helps. I think maybe the PH going so low might have killed off my bacteria? Maybe this is the beginning of a cycle? Maybe I'm just paranoid. Ill let it go till tomorrow and test everything again. if its good ill add some fish.

 

[BRSIII]

I am having trouble finding the chemicals for my test kit. Can someone point me at a good test kit? I can't decide what to get.

 

[Delapool]

API master kit (ph, high ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) is fairly popular. API gh/kh test kit is also available.

I think another one I have seen is Red Sea?

 

[J.Mcpeak]

+2 on the slates, I have used it for many years 6 or more with no adverse effects.

 

[jlk]

I don't have any drift wood. The water was nice and clear for the first couple of days after I added the limestone and coral. I rinsed it all very very well I hate a cloudy mess like you get when you don't rinse. The cloudiness started this morning and it's white not green. I am going to throw some filter floss in the sump chamber and see if it helps. I think maybe the PH going so low might have killed off my bacteria? Maybe this is the beginning of a cycle? Maybe I'm just paranoid. Ill let it go till tomorrow and test everything again. if its good ill add some fish.

How are things going? If you rinsed the buffer well, you may be seeing a bacterial bloom now that the ph is stabilizing. Nitrifying bacteria are not very tolerant of acidic water but hopefully things will stabilize quickly. Just keep an eye on your numbers and do water changes as needed.

 

[BRSIII]

Everything is still good as far as testing water parameters. I put some cheap rainbow fish in the tank to be guinea pigs because i think in the back of my mind I'm still afraid i have some kind of toxin loose in there, they have been in there a day and seem pretty healthy and happy. Im gonna let things go for now and give them a day or two more before i put the africans back in.

 

[BRSIII]

The rainbow fish seem to be doing awesome. The water is still a little cloudy for my liking but I am thinking maybe it was the PH crash that killed everyone after all. I think ill put the african cichlids back in tomorrow.

 

[Delapool]

Great news! Still not clearing up much on the cloudy water?

 

[BRSIII]

not much no.

 

[BRSIII]

added the cichlids back to the tank. No deaths yet. they also dont seem to give a crap about the rainbow fish so im thinking about leaving them in.